I think the bad hair day unit that discharges the corona is gonna be the
answer, I have built a couple and am waiting for some nice weather to
install on the top antenna where our club stuff is located.
Frank or Barb wrote:
>
> The problem we have in SW PA on 2mtrs, is rain and snow static.
> Electricly Charged rain drops and snow flakes.
> They discharge on the antenna or tower and desence the repeater
> receiver. We also get the ion cloud that precedes the thunder storms.
> Some un-expected lightning strikes come from that cloud with no rain.
>
> Our other source of noise is sunny dry windy days. The wind blowing past
> the antenna and tower is like dragging your feet on a rug to make
> electricity that discharges causing desense.
>
> I must add that our best repeater coverage is when it is wet with cloud
> cover and no wind. Usually after the sun has set.
>
> This is very noticeable on 2mtrs around Pittsburgh.
> Our 440 repeaters show almost no affect from snow, rain or wind static.
> However the 440 repeaters signals seem to be affected by the wind. You
> can watch the signal levels going up and down on your s-meter.
> 73
> N3FLR - Frank
>
> [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
>
> > Hi All!
> >
> > My Weather Spotters are mad at me! Help!
> >
> > Are there any technical papers out there that describe repeater/radio
> > performance as a function of heavy rain / thunderstorms / severe
> > weather? Where the weather is an attenuation of RF?
> >
> > Let me describe the scenario.....
> >
> > As we all know its tornado season and as the weather turns bad, all the
> > spotters and spotter want to be's show up for the weather nets. When the
> > weather hits the area and the storms are moving through the coverage
> > area of the repeater, it's range drops off. Some of my spotters claim
> > the coverage area drops up to 50%!
> >
> > We have talked about the silly stuff:
> >
> > 1. Ht's don't work well inside your car, when you are trying to stay out
> > of the rain.
> > 2. Ht's that are marginal when the weather is good don't work better in
> > bad weather.
> > 3. Bases don't work well inside your house, when you disconnect the base
> > antenna for an indoor antenna.
> > 4. Mobiles don't work well from inside your garage or when you are under
> > a highway overpass!
> >
> > As for the repeater, it is on our wish list to upgrade the current 10
> > year old 4-pole antenna with new. I have joking suggested if someone
> > would like to go and check the VSWR during a storm they have my
> > permission! Suprisingly, no takers! The repeater is a 40 watt Micor.
> >
> > Assuming the antenna is OK and the silly stuff is not going on, here are
> > my questions:
> >
> > 1. How does severe weather affect short term range?
> > 2. Is it the rain alone, or the moisture on everything?
> > 3. Does lightning effect the noise floor enough to drown out weak signals?
> >
> > I remember reading a paper back in college that describe broadcast
> > signal RF attenuation in deep woods and forests as an effect of the leaf
> > canopy, and the moisture of the rain/dew on the leaves and its effects
> > during the summer vs. winter months (winter has no leaves to effect RF)
> >
> > Any Help and ideas would be great!
> > Sorry for the long post!
> > Respectfully,
> > Brian, WD9HSY
> >
--
73...Clark Beckman N8PZD
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